We're on to 2025

Good riddance to 2024

This is obviously going to be quick, as there were only 8 games on New Year's Eve.

In the last Game of the Day of 2024, Jace Bessey scored 9 of his 21 points in the 3rd quarter to help Spruce Mountain pull away from Monmouth and move to 7-0.

The Sun Journal's Haley Jones was there with the full story.

We'll come back to Spruce.

Elsewhere:

Tristain Robbins scored 16 as Caribou blew out Foxcroft...Cruz Casavant's 17 led Presque Isle past Bapst...Claire Gatani had 23 as Bapst beat PI in the girl's game...Maddie Grimaldi had 19 to keep the Spruce girls undefeated. Spruce Mountain and Valley are the only schools that remain unbeaten (boys and girls)...Madelyn Duprey had 17 in Caribou's win over Foxcroft.

We're on to 2025.

Here's a fascinating article from the Ringer on paywalls.

I don't love paywalls, although I understand why they exist. And, you know, have one. For me, personally, I want to keep the newsletter free. I think a newsletter that essentially promotes high school kids should be free. The buzzer-beaters and cool stat lines in here should be easy to read. But this takes a lot of time and time is money, so the Model's picks are behind the paywall, as are the superior Heal Points, the Tourney Odds, and so on. I think it's a good balance.

There's also a viewpoint where a paywall isn't a hinderance. It's a vote for the media you want to exist in the world. You pay the subscription because that helps ensure the website can continue to exist and they can keep creating new content. I think (hope) this site fits that paradigm.

And this is where I encourage you to upgrade to the Varsity level.

Upgrade!

Let's take a look at the updated Wins Draft standings.

It really helps if you nail the "Missed the playoffs" pick.

It's pretty hard to get the Game of the Day in 2 consecutive newsletters. You've gotta have a tough stretch of the schedule and you probably need a weekend or a holiday, but Spruce Mountain is back in the driver's seat as they head to Waldoboro to take on Medomak Valley.

The Phoenix and the Panthers are both undefeated in what's looking like a 3 team race in B South, along with York.

Getting the 1 seed here would be a real benefit, come tourney time.

Medomak and Spruce are now 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in %Perfect, a stat that measures how dominant you are, relative to the schedule (Valley is first at 99.1%). They're first and third in Class B in scoring defense, second and third in point differential, and fourth and sixth in scoring.

We talked about Spruce a little last year. Jace Bessey is the headliner, but Cai Dougher is a guy who can impact the game on both ends and was huge for them in the quarterfinals last year. As for the Panthers, Gabe Lash is one of the best defenders in the state and should be in the mix for Mr. Basketball. Beyond that, Rocco DePatsy has been an impact player in the post and Mason Nguyen leads a talented group of guards.

The winner of this will get an early leg up on the race for the 1 seed. It should be a good one.

I'll be there with LIVE stats.

LCTV.org will have the stream.

Game Matchups

The rest of the Model's picks for today's games are after the jump.